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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 20, 2024 at 8:46am

Study suggests prenatal diet may play a role in autism

A small team of public health specialists from the University of Glasgow and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health reports a possible link between some cases of autism and prenatal diet.

In their study, published in JAMA Network Open, the group analyzed information in two large databases of medical information on thousands of mothers and daughters in Norway and England.
Prior research has suggested that there appears to be diet, genetic and environmental factors involved in the development of autism in children while they are still in the womb, though the exact cause is still unknown. For this new study, the research team looked more closely at the role of diet in its development.

The researchers analyzed patient information from two large databases: the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children and the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study. The researchers looked at data for the years 2002 through 2008 and 1990 through 1992, which included data for children up to age 8. In all, they analyzed data for more than 95,000 mother/daughter pairs.
Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 20, 2024 at 8:37am

The problem with influenza is that it's not just one virus. Like the SARS-CoV-2 virus, it's always evolving the next variant and we're always left to chase where the virus was, not where it's going to be.

The spike proteins on the virus exterior surface evolve to elude antibodies. In the case of flu, vaccines are updated regularly using a best estimate of the next evolution of the virus. Sometimes it's accurate, sometimes less so.

In contrast, a specific type of T cell in the lungs, known as effector memory T cell, targets the internal structural proteins of the virus, rather than its continually mutating outer envelope. This internal structure doesn't change much over time—presenting a stationary target for T cells to search out and destroy any cells infected by an old or newly evolved influenza virus.
To test their T cell theory, researchers designed a CMV-based vaccine using the 1918 influenza virus as a template. Working within a highly secure biosafety level 3 laboratory, they exposed the vaccinated nonhuman primates to small particle aerosols containing the avian H5N1 influenza virus—an especially severe virus that is currently circulating among dairy cows in the United States.

Remarkably, six of the 11 vaccinated primates survived the exposure, despite the century-long period of virus evolution.

It worked because the interior protein of the virus was so well preserved. So much so, that even after almost 100 years of evolution, the virus can't change those critically important parts of itself.

The study raises the potential for developing a protective vaccine against H5N1 in people.

Cytomegalovirus vaccine vector-induced effector memory CD4+ T cells protect cynomolgus macaques from lethal aerosolized heterologous avian influenza, Nature Communications (2024).

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-50345-6

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 20, 2024 at 8:35am

Study shows promise for a universal influenza vaccine: Scientists validate theory using 1918 flu virus

New research  reveals a promising approach to developing a universal influenza vaccine—a so-called "one and done" vaccine that confers lifetime immunity against an evolving virus.

The study, published recently in the journal Nature Communications, tested an OHSU-developed vaccine platform against the virus considered most likely to trigger the next pandemic.

Researchers reported the vaccine generated a robust immune response in nonhuman primates that were exposed to the avian H5N1 influenza virus. But the vaccine wasn't based on the contemporary H5N1 virus; instead, the primates were inoculated against the influenza virus of 1918 that killed millions of people worldwide.

Researchers reported that six of 11 nonhuman primates inoculated against the virus that circulated a century ago—the 1918 flu—survived exposure to one of the deadliest viruses in the world today, H5N1. In contrast, a control group of six unvaccinated primates exposed to the H5N1 virus succumbed to the disease.

This approach harnesses a vaccine platform previously developed by scientists at OHSU to fight HIV and tuberculosis, and in fact is already being used in a clinical trial against HIV.

The method involves inserting small pieces of target pathogens into the common herpes virus cytomegalovirus, or CMV, which infects most people in their lifetimes and typically produces mild or no symptoms. The virus acts as a vector specifically designed to induce an immune response from the body's own T cells.

This approach differs from common vaccines—including the existing flu vaccines—which are designed to induce an antibody response that targets the most recent evolution of the virus, distinguished by the arrangement of proteins covering the exterior surface.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 19, 2024 at 11:32am

Our last common ancestor
The shared forebearer of all life — known as the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) — was a complex microbe that lived around 4.2 billion years ago, ate carbon dioxide and hydrogen, and produced acetate that might have fed other life. Researchers inferred information about our great-great-grandblob’s genetics and biology by tracing duplicated, lost and mutated genes back up the microbial family tree. LUCA probably possessed an early immune system, too — hinting that it lived in an established ecosystem with other microbes and was already involved in an arms race with viruses.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-024-02461-1?utm_source=Live+...

https://www.science.org/content/article/our-last-common-ancestor-li...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 19, 2024 at 10:58am

Facially expressive individuals may be better equipped to build and maintain strong social connections, potentially leading to the range of benefits associated with group cohesion, such as increased access to resources, mating opportunities, and protection from threats
Social connectivity was also more evenly distributed throughout their group members when the dominant male was more expressive, suggesting the increased facial communication was linked to more tolerant leadership styles.

The research has implications for understanding human social behavior, suggesting that facial expressivity has evolved to help us build and maintain social relationships.
Now why do you think 'expressive-faced' actors are more popular than 'no-expression' scientists?

J. Whitehouse et al, Facial expressivity in dominant macaques is linked to group cohesion, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2024). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0984

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 19, 2024 at 10:54am

Study finds facially expressive primates make better leaders

Facially expressive monkeys are more socially successful and lead better connected social groups, according to research  which shows the benefits of facial communication in primates, including humans.

The study focused on nine social groups of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) all consisting of one adult male, multiple adult females, and offspring. The article, "Facial expressivity in dominant macaques is linked to group cohesion," has been published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

As social animals, primates are known to use their face to convey information related to identity, family relations, dominance, benign intent, affiliation, and motivation to play.

The researchers analyzed the facial expressions of the dominant male in each group by using a specially designed coding system for studying rhesus macaques, called MaqFACS, to track 17 separate facial muscle movements.
In addition, researchers quantified the social lives of all 66 monkeys across the groups, measuring how often each pair spend time together and how often they engage in friendly grooming interactions.

The males who displayed a greater diversity of facial expressions, perhaps to make their intent clear and reduce uncertainty, were found to be more socially connected within their groups, enjoying stronger social bonds and occupying more central positions within their social networks.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 19, 2024 at 10:40am

Tool predicts rogue waves up to five minutes in advance

A new tool that can be used to predict the emergence of unusually large and unpredictable waves at sea—known as rogue waves—up to five minutes into the future is presented in a study published in Scientific Reports. The authors suggest that the tool could be used to issue advance warnings to ships and offshore platforms to enable those working on them to seek shelter, perform emergency shutdowns, or maneuver to minimize the impacts of approaching rogue waves.

The tool developed by Thomas Breunung and Balakumar Balachandran consists of a neural network that has been trained to distinguish ocean waves that will be followed by rogue waves, from those that will not.

The authors trained the neural network using a dataset consisting of 14 million 30 minute-long samples of sea surface elevation measurements from 172 buoys located near the shores of the continental United States and the Pacific Islands. They used their tool to predict the emergence of rogue waves using a separate dataset consisting of 40,000 sea surface elevation measurements from the same buoys.

The authors found that their tool was able to correctly predict the emergence of 75% of rogue waves one minute into the future and 73% of rogue waves five minutes into the future. The tool was also able to predict the emergence of rogue waves near two buoys not included within the datasets used in training with 75% accuracy one minute into the future. This highlights that the tool may be capable of predicting rogue waves at new locations.

The authors suggest that the accuracy and advance warning time of their tool's forecasts could be further improved by incorporating water depth, wind speed, and wave location data. Future research could also enable the heights of upcoming rogue waves or the times at which they may emerge to be predicted, they add.

Thomas Breunung, Prediction of freak waves from buoy measurements, Scientific Reports (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-66315-3. www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-66315-3

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 19, 2024 at 10:35am

 Research shows young infants use their mother's scent to perceive faces

Humans see the world through the five senses, but how and when the ability to integrate across the senses arises is debated. Research shows that humans combine sensory information together, particularly when one sense is not able to produce a sufficient response alone. Studies also show that infants may use multisensory cues to perceive their environments more efficiently.

A new Child Development study by researchers tracked how and when infants aged between four and 12 months use their mother's scent to perceive faces.

Results helped researchers confirm that the ability to perceive faces greatly improves between 4 and 12 months, with younger infants benefiting the most from the presence of their mother's odor. The research also suggests that older infants efficiently perceive faces from visual information, and they do not need to rely on other concurrent cues anymore.

Olfactory-to-visual facilitation in the infant brain declines gradually from 4 to 12 months, Child Development (2024). DOI: 10.1111/cdev.14124

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 19, 2024 at 10:25am

A big question is why rotifers are the only animals that borrow these useful genes from microbes at such high rates.

Scientists think it might be linked with another strange fact about these rotifers. Unlike other animals, we never see male rotifers. Rotifer mothers lay eggs that hatch into genetic copies of themselves, without needing sex or fertilization.

According to one theory, animals that copy themselves like this can become so similar that they start to be unhealthy.

If one catches a disease, so will the rest. 

Because bdelloid rotifers don't have sex, which allows the parental genes to recombine in beneficial ways, the rotifer mother's genome is directly transferred to her offspring without introducing any new variation. If rotifers don't find a way to change their genes, they could go extinct. This might help explain why these rotifers have borrowed so many genes from other places, especially anything that helps them cope with infections.

The rotifers were using hundreds of genes that aren't seen in other animals. 

Bdelloid rotifers deploy horizontally acquired biosynthetic genes against a fungal pathogen, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49919-1. www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-49919-1

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 19, 2024 at 10:22am

Study shows small animals use 'stolen' genes from bacteria to protect against infection

Certain small, freshwater animals protect themselves from infections using antibiotic recipes "stolen" from bacteria, according to new research .

The tiny creatures are called bdelloid rotifers, which means "crawling wheel-animals." They have a head, mouth, gut, muscles and nerves like other animals, though they are smaller than a hair's breadth.

When these rotifers are exposed to fungal infection, the study found, they switch on hundreds of genes that they acquired from bacteria and other microbes. Some of these genes produce resistance weapons, such as antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents, in the rotifers. Researchers report their findings in Nature Communications.

When the researchers translated the DNA code to see what the stolen genes were doing, they had a surprise. The main genes were instructions for chemicals that  they didn't think animals could make—they looked like recipes for antibiotics.

Prior research found that rotifers have been picking up DNA from their surroundings for millions of years, but the new study is the first to discover them using these genes against diseases. No other animals are known to "steal" genes from microbes on such a large scale.

These complex genes—some of which aren't found in any other animals—were acquired from bacteria but have undergone evolution in rotifers. This raises the potential that rotifers are producing novel antimicrobials that may be less toxic to animals, including humans, than those we develop from bacteria and fungi.

Antibiotics are essential to modern health care, but most of them were not invented by scientists. Instead, they are produced naturally by fungi and bacteria in the wild, and humans can make artificial versions to use as medicine.

The new study suggests that rotifers might be doing something similar.

These strange little animals have copied the DNA that tells microbes how to make antibiotics  Scientists watched them using one of these genes against a disease caused by a fungus, and the animals that survived the infection were producing 10 times more of the chemical recipe than the ones that died, indicating that it helps to suppress the disease.

The scientists think that rotifers could give important clues in the hunt for drugs to treat human infections caused by bacteria or fungi.

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